In recent years, economic globalization has led to an increased number of international business travelers. To conduct business, these business travelers typically must remain in a country of a different origin and/or monetary base than from where the business traveler originated. In some cases, it may be necessary for the business traveler to remain in the foreign country for an extended period of time in order to complete his intended business.
To subsist in the foreign country for any extended period of time, the business traveler often must be able to pay for living or business expenses. In that regard, an employer may provide the business traveler with various different means for paying for the expenses. For example, the business traveler may be given cash which can be issued in the currency of the traveler's country of origin (e.g. local currency) or in the currency of the country of the traveler's intended destination (e.g. foreign currency). However, carrying cash has several disadvantages. For example, the cash typically must be converted to the currency of the country of intended travel using international currency conversion rates. Further, the traveler typically must keep track of expenses incurred during his business trip for reimbursement and accounting purposes. Further still, cash is often irreplaceable if lost or stolen, leaving the business traveler without sufficient funds to sustain his trip.
In spite of the disadvantages of carrying cash, some business travelers may still prefer to carry a negotiable paper currency such as traveler's checks. In general, paper traveler's checks are issued in the currency of the country in which the traveler's checks are intended to be used. In addition, the traveler's checks typically are given a unique serial number for tracking the checks in the event the checks are lost or stolen. Further, the traveler's checks often must be countersigned by the holder before it may be negotiated.
Traveler's checks may be desirable as compared to conventional cash because of the signature authorization required and because of the ability to be re-compensated the face value of the traveler's checks if the checks are lost or stolen. The traveler may recoup his losses by reporting to the traveler's check issuing institution the serial numbers of the lost or stolen checks. Unfortunately, since the traveler's check issuing institution must verify that the checks were not used, or were subject to unauthorized use, such reimbursement is typically not immediate. Thus, the traveler is often placed at a financial disadvantage until such time as the verification is made and the traveler is reimbursed the amount of the lost checks.
Another method for providing the business traveler with the needed funds includes issuing the traveler a transaction card enabling the business traveler to electronically interface with a financial institution. For this purpose, a variety of cards exist. For example, a traditional credit card is a card which typically contains a magnetic stripe encoded with an account number which may be read at special terminals at a merchant's location. The merchant terminal may read the account information and may transmit the account information and the amount of the intended transaction to the credit card issuing institution. The credit card issuing institution may check credit available for the account against the requested transaction to determine if the requested transaction is within the transaction account credit limit (e.g., available credit). Where the requested transaction does not exceed the available credit, the issuing institution may extend the credit needed to complete the desired transaction.
Although the credit cards may be readily replaced if lost or stolen, using the credit card to complete a transaction has one clear drawback. In particular, the user of the credit card is often charged interest on the credit extended, which means that the traveler may end up paying more than the original amount needed to complete the desired transaction.
Another type of transaction card which may be used by a business traveler is a debit card. Typically, a debit card is not used to extend credit, but rather to debit or withdraw cash from an account for immediate payment to a merchant. The debit card typically corresponds to a checking account (or savings account) established by the holder of the debit card. The checking account is usually established at a financial institution located in the country of intended use. The checking account and the financial institution are usually only recognized in the country in which the financial institution is located. Thus, the debit card is typically not useful for completing transactions in countries other than where the checking account is located. This is especially important since the financial institution to which the checking account is linked may not be recognized in the country where the transaction is to be completed.
Still another type of transaction card which may be used by a business traveler to access funds is the automated teller machine (ATM) card. Similar to a debit card, the ATM card is typically linked to a checking (or savings) account maintained at a particular financial institution. The ATM card may allow the ATM cardholder to remotely access funds stored in the checking or savings account by presenting the card to an ATM which is connected to an ATM interchange to which the financial institution subscribes. Like a debit card, the financial institution must be recognized by the ATM network. Thus, ATM cards are typically not useful to a foreign business traveler who attempts to retrieve funds in a country other than where the checking or savings account is established. This is true since the financial institution is often not recognized in the country where the transaction is to be completed.
Still another method for providing the business traveler with funds includes providing the business traveler with a “prepaid” transaction card which is linked to a prepaid account. The prepaid account may be established at a financial institution located in the country in which the card is to be used. The prepaid method requires the prepaid cardholder to deposit into the prepaid account a predetermined amount of funds. Subsequent to delivery of the goods or services, the amount of the transaction for goods and services is charged against the amount available in the prepaid account. However, similar to the debit cards, the prepaid card is typically geographically limited in that the card may not be used in a country which does not recognize the financial institution where the prepaid account is established. Consequently, since it is often imperative that the business traveler be provided access to sufficient funds for payment of these expenses, a system and method is needed which will allow the business traveler to access the needed funds, whether or not the traveler's attempt to access the funds in his/her country of origin or the foreign country in which he is traveling.